After watching the video of George Floyd begging for his life, Demetria Brown knew she had enough.
Brown quit her job on June 1 as a detention officer for the Los Angeles County Probation Department, sold her house, stuffed her belongings into 13 duffel bags, and relocated to Puerto Vallarta in Mexico.
“Watching that video — my heart broke and sank all at the same time,” Brown told CNN during an interview. “That video served as my final confirmation that I was doing the best thing for my life by departing the United States of America permanently.”
Brown joins a number of Black Americans fed up with the country’s criminal justice system and racism. She said moving to Mexico was the best decision she’s made.
“They value me as a person. My complexion feels like added value to me here and I am not afraid of the police. Can you imagine saying that?” Brown says. “I walk by police with guns in Puerto Vallarta, they smile and wave. No fear.”
After quitting her job and hugging her coworkers goodbye she said a sense of relief washed over her.
“I walked away from my job with my … freedom of time, peace but more importantly my sanity,” she says. “Racism is something I was forced to process daily both personally and professionally.”
Brown is not alone.
A record number of people are giving up their US citizenship, according to new research.
More than 5,800 Americans gave up their citizenship in the first six months of 2020 compared to the 2,072 Americans who renounced their citizenship in all of 2019, according to Bambridge Accountants, a New York-based firm specializing in US expat tax, UK expats, and more.
“These are mainly people who already left the US and just decided they’ve had enough of everything,” Alistair Bambridge, a partner at Bambridge Accountants, told CNN. “What we’ve seen is people are over everything happening with President Donald Trump, how the coronavirus pandemic is being handled, and the political policies in the US at the moment.”